


Holding On and Letting Go

by hope27



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 08:46:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3203036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope27/pseuds/hope27
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a month without Oliver and the team is doing their best to carry on his crusade, but when one mission goes south, Felicity finds herself fighting for her life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Holding On and Letting Go

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** Hey guys! I'm back again with probably my last reunion fic ( with the exception of a sexy times one that I'm not sure will get done - or at least until the actual reunion takes place on the show or we know more about it.) This one is the last from the many different ways it could have happened files. Let's put it that way. 
> 
> I don't even remember how this idea came to me, but once the plot bunny poked me, it had to be written. I hope you enjoy it! (I'm sinceriously sorry if these are getting repetitive.)
> 
> As always, I'd love to know what you think! Your support means so much to me!
> 
> 3x09 SPOILERS!

It had been a month without him. A month with no Oliver and the team was barely holding itself together.

The city seemed to be swarming with various threats, and as capable as Digg and Roy were, they were missing an integral member of their team. They kept fighting and hanging on by the edge of their teeth, but it left them all weary and battling exhaustion.

The newest threat required everyone out in the field, including Felicity. She needed to get the information off of two secure servers from the Triad’s newest headquarters. It was a dangerous mission, but one that had to be successful in order to keep a new shipment of weapons off of Starling’s streets.

Everything had gone well until Felicity had half of the files downloaded onto her thumb drive.

Then all hell broke loose.

Five men in black stormed the server room where she was holed up with Roy and Laurel. Felicity ducked for cover beneath the large desk next to the server, listening the battle raging behind her.

“Come on,” she whispered, urging the system to work faster, even though she knew it was impossible for the hardware she was using.

She just hoped and prayed that the two of them could keep the men at bay long enough to get what they needed.

She heard grunts of pain echo around the large room, harsh breaths rattling around. She knew each time Roy got hit and each time he landed one.

By the time the device flashed twice, indicating it had finished, she knew it wasn’t going well. Grabbing the drive and placing it in her pocket, she quickly peeked out of her hiding place.

Her eyes widened as she saw Roy taking on two large men, Laurel struggling in the corner with her own man, not able to have her partner’s back.

Digg’s voice rang through her ears, a sharp command to get out.

That and the sight of one of the men Roy had just deposited on the ground getting to his feet, gun in hand, had her springing into action.

She wasn’t going to lose someone else.

“No!” she cried, making a dashing leap just as the gunshot echoed through the room.  
Blinding pain followed and then nothing. She was weightless and drifting. Hues of grays and purples and blues crossed before her. She heard voices - familiar - but she was unable to place them.

It was cold, and she was so tired.

And maybe...just maybe, if she let go, she’d finally be able to see him again - to tell him those words that had been stuck in her throat, torn deep from her heart, that she hadn’t gotten to say before he’d left.

That thought propelled her forward, and she let herself drift farther off, following the cloudy grays and blues, further away from the voices that tried to pull her back.

And then she heard him.

His voice echoed around her, instantly warming her and her chest seized, a deep primal need to follow that sound until she was in his arms again.

Oliver…, she heard her own voice, but he apparently couldn’t hear her because his grew more frantic.

_Felicity! Fight! Come back to me!_

Warmth surged through her again, and she stopped, reaching for his voice, reaching for him, letting his words flow through her.

His name was a gasp on her lips and she flew upright, pain radiating from her chest as she inhaled deeply.

Her eyes fluttered open and that’s when she saw him for the first time in a month. Since the day he’d walked out of the Foundry, his declaration of love ringing in her ears and the warmth of his lips lingering on her skin.

“Oliver…” she croaked and frowned when she barely recognized her own voice.

“Easy,” he breathed, his shoulders sagging as relief flowed through his eyes. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead and she lifted her hand, fisting it in his sweater, holding on as tightly as she could as he continued to whisper against her skin. “You’re going to be okay…Shh…”

Before he could say any more, people were surrounding her, unfamiliar faces - reaching for wires that she now realized were attached to her. Two hands began to ease her back on the bed, a kind voice asking her how she felt and the level of her pain.

Fear seized her and she cried out for him, terrified he was just a dream - a hallucination her mind had created.

Then she felt his strong grip on her hand as he took up a place by her head, and she knew no one was going to move him. His eyes held hers and he nodded, letting her know he wasn’t going anywhere. He was right there, his hand in hers.

She felt unconsciousness pulling at her again, and tears gathered in her eyes, the fear of waking to find him once again gone tearing at her. But no matter how hard she tried to fight it, whatever they’d given her was stronger. Her eyes held his until it pulled her under, but she felt his fingers running over the back of her hand and she prayed that it was his own way of telling her that he’d be there when she woke again.

Her sleep was dreamless, dark hues and greys settling around her, his name echoing in her head.

The next time her eyes fluttered open, the only sound that reached her ears was the steady thrum of the heart monitor. She blinked, trying to focus, her vision blurry without her glasses.

Her throat was dry and she tried to swallow, wincing slightly. As her eyes adjusted, she searched the room, panic welling up inside her when she couldn’t see or hear anyone.

It hadn’t been a dream.. He’d been here; she’d seen him. It couldn’t have been...

As more of her senses came back to her, she felt a warm pressure covering the fingers on her left hand. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, the raised cadence echoed by the monitor hooked up to her.

Slowly, she turned her head, grimacing when she shifted her injured shoulder bringing tears to her eyes.

Taking a deep breath through her nose, she glanced up, a soft sob escaping her lips when she saw him.

He sat in a chair next to her bed, head propped up on his left hand while his right rested over hers on the bed, strong fingers curled around her own.

Her eyes traced the contours of his face - one she’d never thought she’d see again. She ached to reach out and run her fingers over his stubble, feel the breath enter and leave his mouth with each rise and fall of his chest. She wanted to press her ear against his chest, hear the steady beat of his heart, let it soak in that he was really and truly alive.

She let her gaze drop to his arm, following it to the hand that held hers. Slowly, and with a lot of effort, she moved her fingers, pressing the pads into the top of his hand and holding on tightly.

Her bottom lip trembled, vision blurring with tears as she felt his pulse in his hand, the warmth seeping into her from the contact as she focused on that one sensation of his skin against hers.

It was then that she felt him stir, her name whispered so softly she might have believed it was a dream if it weren’t for the hand she gripped as tightly as she could in her own.

She felt him lean forward, but for some reason she couldn’t make herself look at him. Her gaze was locked on their intertwined hands.

It wasn’t until she felt his other hand on her cheek, his warm fingers trailing over her skin that she realized she’d stopped breathing and gasped, inhaling sharply as her gaze flickered up to his.

The tears spilled over then as she leaned into his hand, his thumb gently wiping away them away.

The bed dipped beside her and, suddenly, he was closer, his face pressed against hers, forehead to forehead.

“I’m right here,” he breathed, his lips inches from her own. “I’m right here. I’m alive and I’m right here.”

Her breath stuttered, soft hiccuping sobs working their way out of her throat at his words.

“I thought...I thought...you were...you were dead,” she cried softly, and she felt him nod against her.

“I know,” he murmured, and she could hear the pain etched into his voice. “I’m so sorry.”

“You’re alive,” she said, more to herself than him. “You’re alive and you’re here…”

“Yes,” he confirmed, and then she felt the press of his lips against her forehead, “You’re alive too,” he added, and she broke.

The pain in her shoulder flared to life as she curled into him, her hands clutching his shirt, holding him to her as she cried for what she’d thought she’d lost and then found again. The second chance they’d been given…

Oliver stroked her hair, and she felt him press kisses against her temple and into her hair, whispering words of reassurance and love into her skin. Safety and warmth surrounded her, his presence bringing back those two things that had been missing for the months he’d been gone. She held on to him tightly, never wanting to lose him again.

When the tears finally stopped, she pulled back, and he brushed the remaining tears from her face. Her eyes flickered up to him, and she took in the open expression in his eyes - found the love she’d been so hesitant to see for so many months after he’d put an end to them. Now, she embraced it, because along with that love, she caught the determination in his gaze.

The words that she’d held on to as he’d walked out of the foundry months before stepped through the door she finally opened.

“I love you,” she stated, voice unwavering as she held his gaze. “I love you.”

She had never seen anything more beautiful than Oliver Queen’s face when she said those words to him. His eyes lit up, his mouth curving upward as his breath caught and he stared at her with wonder and something akin to disbelief.

Using her good arm, she lifted it to his face, letting her fingers run up through the stubble and along his jaw until she cupped his cheek.

His eyes fell shut briefly as he nuzzled her hand, turning his head and placing a soft kiss on the sensitive skin of her palm.

Sparkling blue met her again, and she grinned, saying it again. “I love you, Oliver Queen.”

“I love you too,” he finally breathed, as he leaned down, nose brushing hers before he found her lips, placing a delicate, barely there kiss against them that left her breathless.

When they broke apart, Oliver placed a kiss on her forehead before leaning back. “Diggle and Roy are outside. Roy hasn’t left the chair outside your room since they brought you in last night.”

She released a breath, memories of how she’d gotten hurt flying through her head. “Oh…”

“Easy,” he whispered, keeping her from sitting up too far with a hand over her abdomen. “I’ll bring them in, but you have to promise not to stress yourself.”

Felicity fought rolling her eyes, knowing if the roles were reversed he’d been an even worse patient.

Knowing he wouldn’t move until she agreed, she sighed and nodded, her hands covering his that laid over her stomach and squeezing.

A few seconds later, the door opened and the rest of her family entered, Roy and Digg followed by Lyla and baby Sara. She smiled, tears of joy at seeing her makeshift family all together once again.

When they were alone once more, she turned her face into his shoulder, trying to hide the wince at her movement and the yawn that escaped. He caught both of them, gently settling back into the bed beside her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Felicity let out a long breath, shifting until she was comfortable and placed her head over his chest, finally able to listen to his heartbeat, letting it lull her to sleep, thankful he was back in her arms. Safe and sound.

.


End file.
